


All For Her

by kdsmtty



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2020-10-24 12:34:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20706071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kdsmtty/pseuds/kdsmtty
Summary: Hunger Games AU. Madge only knows one thing, she's in love with Katniss Everdeen. When Prim's name is called, Madge volunteers as tribute before Katniss has a chance. Will Madge's fate end the same as her aunt's? Or will she survive the games, and make her way back to District 12? How will it affect everyone else's lives?





	1. Chapter 1

**The Hunger Games is all from the brilliant mind of Suzanne Collins. I have merely turned it into a girlxgirl pairing, and made Madge become the tribute. The beginning chapters will be similar to the book, but that will change due to Madge reacting to people and situations differently than Katniss would. I hope you all enjoy this as much as I will. Also, this is my first time actually posting anything I have written so please be gentle.**

** Chapter 1 **

** Madge POV **

As I open my eyes to the morning sunlight pouring in through my window, I realize the day of the reaping is here. Everyone always assumes I’m safe from having my name drawn because it has only been entered five times, but all it takes is one. I dread this day just as everyone else does, but people always fail to see that because I’m the Mayor’s daughter. No matter how kind or nice to people I have tried to be everyone still sees me as part of the capital because who my father is, but I can’t help that. After realizing that no one will see me for who I truly am at a young age, I retreated into myself. People think I’m shy, quiet, and keep to myself but it’s really just the bubble they placed me into. No one knows or sees the real me. Well, no one except Katniss Everdeen. At first, I thought it was only feelings of friendship but as I got older, I realized I had romantic feelings for her. The first time I realized the attraction was at lunch when we were fourteen. She leaned over into my shoulder to look at my book when her breasts rubbed against me, and I felt warm all over instantly. Don’t get me wrong I have always had feelings for her, but I misinterpreted those feelings at first. Even after I realized what the feelings meant I tried to brush them off, but they have never gone away. I have thought about telling her several times, but I am too scared of how she will react. Two women being together is very uncommon to begin with in District 12, but I can’t afford to lose her. I can handle just being friends with her because that is much better than the alternative, losing her completely from my life. Besides, I just want her to be happy and I think she might be in love with Gale. The thought of her loving Gale is like someone is piercing my heart with a knife, but I will gladly endure the pain as long as she’s happy, that’s all I really want for her. Katniss is happy, so that makes me happy. My thoughts are interrupted by footsteps coming closer to my door._Knock. Knock. Knock. _

“Come in.” I say loudly so whoever is there can hear me through the door. The door opens and reveals my father holding a new dress for me to wear to the reaping. He slowly walks in with a pained expression that he tries to cover up with a smile. “I bought you a new dress to wear today.” He says softly. We both know reaping days have always been hard for my Mother, but especially now that she has a child that could be called. She lost her twin sister, Maysilee, in the Hunger Games when she was my age. Great, another thing for me to worry about on this terrible day. “Thank you, I should start getting ready.” I say as I grab the new dress from him. He gives me a final smile then closes the door behind him. As I bathe, my thoughts continue on a traitorous path thinking that today’s the day my name will be called. I need to stop this train of thought before it consumes me. Getting out of the bathtub, I dry off then start working on my hair to distract myself. I spend hours getting ready for the day, but I am finally done with plenty of time to spare. What to do to pass the time? Music.

Playing the piano is my only outlet for my emotions, and with so many feelings threatening to overcome me now, I need to release them. Instead of playing from my music sheets, I play from the heart. Every emotion I’m feeling is pouring out of me, love for Katniss, fear of the reaping, and an ominous feeling of dread. The tune starts so happy, cheerful but soon it turns into a foreboding tune that resonates deep within me. Once I feel a bit more settled, I open my eyes and jump when I see my Mother standing beside my piano bench. The emotions showing on her face look a mirror image to my own. Clearly, she has the same bad feeling that I have, but then again, she always looks this way on reaping day. She doesn’t say anything, but grabs the front of my dress and places something on it. I look down and see my late aunt’s gold pin of a mockingjay fixed firmly on my dress. Looking up at her in shock, I can’t even speak the words going through my mind. This is the last thing you have from your twin; you should keep it. Why give it to me now? Why do you feel I need it today? Why? Why? Why?! After what feels like an eternity of us staring at each other without speaking, she leans in and kisses me on the forehead then goes back to her room. This unexpected encounter with my Mother makes me feel even more unbalanced so I start playing more music from the heart.

After playing for minutes or hours, I hear knocking on my back door. Oh, that’s right, Katniss is supposed to bring strawberries for my Mother today. I grab the coins on the way to the back door, and actually smile for the first time today. I always love seeing her. I open the door and immediately feel myself calm further seeing her. She always looks so beautiful in her usual hunting outfit, and I know my smile grows even more when I look into her eyes. “Pretty dress,” says Gale. My eyes move over to him quickly, I hadn’t even realized he was with Katniss but I should have known. I’m not sure, but I think he was being sarcastic. Of course, I want to be rude right back, but he’s important to Katniss so I’ll let it slide. Like always. I give a small, fake smile and reply, “Well, if I end up going to the Capitol, I want to look nice, don’t I?” Gale considers what I say for a moment, and I think he realizes this is me messing with him in a nicer way then I originally wanted. He starts going off on a tangent about how I won’t be going, and saying my five entries are nothing compared to his. Before I have a chance to respond, Katniss defends me to him. She picked me over him, which is a huge surprise. My face must have shown my confusion because Katniss was staring at me worriedly, so I quickly hand her the coins and grab the strawberries. I give her one last look with a small smile and say, “Good luck, Katniss.” “You, too,” she replies and then I shut the door. ‘I love you with all my heart.’ I wish I could tell her. There’s not much time left before the reaping so I wash the strawberries, and take them up to my father’s study. I spend the remaining time with him before we have to leave for possibly my last time.


	2. The Reaping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starting this chapter, I'm going to switch the POV from Madge and Katniss. There will be more Madge than Katniss, but I feel like I need to put some of Katniss so we know how she's feeling as well. I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

**Katniss POV**

After we leave Madge’s house, I ask Gale what his problem is with her. “She has never been hungry, had to fight for things to survive, her life is simple like the people at the Capitol,” he replies in an angry voice. “Gale, she can’t help her father is the mayor and she is the same as us. She has her name put in the bowl just like the rest of us,” I tell him. He starts to deflate a bit, but I can tell he just doesn’t want to argue on reaping day. “I have to go get ready. I’ll see you there,” I tell him as I make my way home.

After helping my sister finish getting ready, I quickly take a bath and get dressed. My mother does my hair, and I spend a couple minutes talking to my little sister, Prim. We wait until the last minute before we leave to go the square for the dreaded reaping. This is Prim’s first year and she is extremely scared. I gently remind her that her name is only in the bowl once, so the odds are definitely in her favor. The entire walk to the square, we hold hands to comfort one another. Once we check in with the peace keepers, we are separated by our age. Prim goes with the other twelve-year-old kids, and I make my way to the kids that are sixteen. Madge is two girls away from me, and when she looks over at me, she smiles. I give her a small smile back, then start looking for where Prim went and Gale. I spot them both after a minute of searching, and before long the mayor is onstage starting his speech.

The same boring speeches and video every single year. Gale is mocking the video, and I have to chuckle silently about that. Before long, the dreaded part of the day comes as Effie Trinket steps up to the podium and starts her usual spiel. “Ladies first!” Effie walks over to the bowl and digs her hand around the pieces of paper until she withdraws a single sheet. My breathing and heart have quickly accelerated, and I have sweat beads forming all over my body. This is always the worst part of the reaping. Time seems to have slowed down and sped up at the same time as she makes her way back to the podium to read the name from the paper. “Primrose Everdeen.” She calls over the microphone. I’m frozen in shock, fear, and disbelief. Her name was only in there once. One small piece out of thousands but somehow it was her. After I break out of my stupor I start to rush towards my little sister, and shout out her name several times. Just before I reach her, I hear a voice behind me clear as day yell out, “I volunteer as tribute!”

I stop at the conviction in the voice, and can’t believe someone is willing to sacrifice their life for my sister’s. I turn around quickly to see who it is, and am shocked to find Madge walking towards me and Prim. I can’t even describe what she must be feeling based on the look on her face, but as she looks into my eyes, she gives me a small smile. She stands there for a moment before stepping around us and making her way up on the stage. I can’t move or process what is happening until Prim plows into me hugging me tightly. I quickly walk her to my mother, and look back up to the stage and see Madge is still watching me. Our connection is broken when Effie starts speaking again. “What’s your name?” “Madge Undersee,” she replies softly. Effie looks back towards the Mayor, causing all of us to look at him, and we see him staring at his daughter with silent tears streaming down his face. Why did she volunteer for Prim?

**Madge POV**

“Primrose Everdeen.” As soon as I hear her name called, I know the only way to protect Katniss was to volunteer. I start moving down the line of girls as fast as I can, and once I reach the end, I shout with all my might, “I volunteer as tribute!” I know without a shadow of a doubt Katniss was going to volunteer for her sister. I could never live in a world where she doesn’t exist, but she can live without me. I make my way towards the stage, and Katniss turns around and looks at me. Every time I see her, I can’t help but smile. She is truly the only happiness I have in this world, so I look into her beautiful eyes one last time trying to memorize everything about her face. After a couple of seconds, I navigate my way around Katniss and Prim and head up the steps to get to the stage. I know this will devastate my father and mother, but I will die either way, at least this way Katniss gets to live. I look to find Katniss one last time to make sure she’s safe and with her family. There she is with her mother and sister. Katniss turns to look at me again and I can’t bring myself to look away. That is until Effie asks me what my name is.

“Madge Undersee,” I reply in my normal voice. Effie glances back at my father, and I can tell a lot of others are looking too. My body wants to turn around to look at him, but my brain refuses to see the pain and sorrow I have caused him. After a tense and quiet few minutes, Effie goes to pull out the boy tribute. “Peeta Mellark.” After he starts making his way to the stage, I get lost in my mind until someone is leading me inside the Justice Building for my hour of goodbyes. I go into the room and wait. The only person I honestly expect to tell me goodbye is my father. My mother isn’t even here, she won’t know what happened until after I’m on the train and gone from District 12. I mean, I hope Katniss comes to say goodbye to me, but it will be bitter-sweet for me. She will want to know why I did it, and I don’t know what I should tell her. I don’t want the last words I speak to her to be a lie, but at the same time there’s no point in telling her my feelings now. Thinking through my options, I decide if she does come and ask me, I won’t lie to her. I have never lied to her before, and I refuse to start now.

The door opens and my breath catches in my thought hoping it’s Katniss, but it’s my father that steps through the door, crying. “Why?” The question comes out in a chocked-out way that makes me want to break down and cry right along with him. These could be my last moments with him so I refuse to break down, I need to be strong for him. “You know why dad. You know Katniss was going to volunteer for Prim. I’ve never said it out loud but I think you and mom have always known how I feel about her. If she would have went and died, I would have died right along with her. She doesn’t need me the way I need her. I’m sorry but her life is more important to me than mine will ever be. I love her dad. I’m in love with her.” My dad comes over to me and wraps me in a tight hug and kisses the top of my head. “I know sweetheart. I love you so much. Your mother loves you so much.” He whispers into my hair. I’m barely holding the tears at bay when I tell him how much I love him and mom. I cling onto him until the door opens and the peace keeper said it’s time. He gives me one more kiss on my forehead then disappears through the door. That could very well be the last time I see my father.

Several minutes go by and I’m starting to think no one else is coming through the door to say goodbye. By now, I have been pacing the room trying to think about what to say to Katniss if she does turn up. The door opens with a bang, and in steps the woman of my dreams, Katniss Everdeen. I know a huge smile breaks out on my face which probably just confuses her more. I know Katniss better than I know myself, she has never picked up on how I feel about her even though there are plenty of signs.  
People may think she just chooses to ignore the signs, but I know for a fact she doesn’t realize when anyone has feelings for her, and I mean anyone. The girl is so oblivious which just makes me love her even more. She rushes over to me and pulls me in for a big hug, and I absolutely melt in her arms. I wish I could spend eternity like this, with her. “Why? Why did you save my sister’s life?” She pulls back to look at my face, and I miss the feeling of her arms instantly.

“The truth?” I ask quietly and she nods. “For you. I know you Katniss, and you were going to volunteer in her place. The truth is… the truth…. I.. Katniss…” No matter how hard I try the words get jumbled up in my throat so I do the only thing I can think of to let her know how I feel. I use one hand to grab her lower back and the other to grab behind her neck and pull her down to meet our lips together. The kiss starts off slow because she is frozen in place, but after a couple of seconds she starts to kiss me back. Her hands move to cup both my cheeks, and the kiss increases in need. The kiss is even better than I have ever dreamed, and I never want this feeling to go away. Heat radiates throughout my body, butterflies are flying around in my stomach, and I feel happier than I ever have in my life. We both pull back to catch our breath but keep our foreheads touching each other. “I love you, Katniss. I have loved you for years, and I would do anything to protect you. You are everything to me.” I whisper to her as I look in her eyes so she can she the truth behind my words. Before she can say anything, I pull her back in for one last kiss. This kiss is even better than the first because I’m not afraid anymore.

I’ve told her how I feel, and at least get to feel her lips on mine twice before I die. I move my hand up into her hair as the kiss increases in intensity, and pull her even closer to my body with the hand on her lower back. She pulls back gasping for air, but gives me a brief kiss as we break apart. She starts to open her mouth to speak when the door opens and the peace keepers say it’s time. “Just one more minute.” Katniss begs. The peace keepers start to move towards her to pull her out of the room. She quickly gives me one more kiss as they grab her and start pulling her from the room. “Promise me you’ll try to win for me!” Katniss yells as the Peace keepers are pulling her out the door. “I promise, Katniss!” I yell hoping she can hear me through the shut door. My heart is racing after what just happened. Katniss didn’t say how she felt about me, but she did kiss me back. I knew this would be bitter-sweet. Katniss finally knows how I feel, but I don’t know how she feels. I finally got over my fear and told her, but I might be dead in the next two weeks anyways. Was it worth it in the end? Definitely. I can die happy knowing I got to kiss the woman of my dreams. Of course, I prefer to spend a lifetime with her. I promised her I would try to come back to her, and I intend to keep that promise. I will fight with everything I have to try to stay alive, and keep fighting until my last breath.

The door opens and I think it’s time to load the train, but Gale stands there. What is he doing here? Neither one of us necessarily like the other but we tolerate one another for Katniss. Katniss. The girl we both love. Just because she kissed me back doesn’t mean she fills the same, she might have felt like she owed me for volunteering for Prim. Gale is her best friend; he might mean more to her. If I don’t make it, I hope he makes her happy. “Gale, I didn’t expect to see you here. Come to talk about my pretty dress some more?” I ask in a polite voice. “I’m sorry. I’ve never treated you right, well most of District 12 hasn’t treated you right. I know why you did it. The same reason I would have volunteered for Prim if I could have.” He looks sincere as he speaks but I know he can be fake polite, the same as me. “Thank you for apologizing, but if you really want to make it up to me then just take care of Katniss. She deserves some happiness in her life, and you make her happy.” He nods when I’m done speaking and then leaves through the door.

**Katniss POV**

I can hear Madge yelling that she promises through the door. After the Peace keepers release me I’m frozen in place, what just happened? I wasn’t even sure if Madge was my friend before today but clearly, I have always meant more to her. I was stunned at first when she kissed me, but if I’m being honest, those handful of kisses made me feel more than I ever have before. To be fair though, that was my first kiss so I really can’t compare it to any others. Do I feel the same way for Madge? I’ve always enjoyed spending time with her, and everything is smooth and easy with her. A lot easier than most others. The thought has passed my mind before about how beautiful I find her to be with her blonde hair and blue eyes. I have no idea if I feel the same way or not. The thought of being with anyone has never crossed my mind. I’m afraid to think to hard about it though, what if I do have feelings for her and she dies during the games? I can’t think about this. I just know I feel like I owe her for saving my sister’s and my life. Is that Gale going into Madge’s room? Why is Gale going into Madge’s room to say goodbye?


	3. Train to Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ride to the Capitol is the worst part for the tributes. All of them know the end is near for all of them but one, and have nothing to do but wallow in thoughts of their demise. Drunken Haymitch makes his first appearance, but how will he handle seeing a reminder from his past. Katniss learns a little bit more about her mom's past.

** Chapter 3 **

** Madge POV **

Before I know it, I’m on the train looking out the window as District 12 fades from my view. Effie shows me to my room and tells me dinner will be ready in an hour. I lay on the bed and think about how drastically my life has changed in the last day. Every aspect of my life is now different and my mind is having trouble keeping up with my emotions. There is a huge amount of happiness that has everything to do with Katniss, there’s sorrow that I may not have anything else with Katniss, and there’s fear that I will most likely die in the arena. My thoughts are interrupted by Effie yelling outside my door that it’s time for dinner. Wow, that hour flew by.

When I reach the room to eat, Effie and Peeta are already sitting at the table but Haymitch is nowhere around. Everyone in District 12 knows about his drinking problem, but not everyone knows why he became the way he is now. My parents have explained some parts of it to me, the parts involving my late aunt anyways. If I do survive the arena, will I become someone different like he did? Is it worth it in the end? While the three of us eat, there’s nothing but an uncomfortable silence until Effie starts making conversation. “Madge, I thought that was sweet of you volunteering for that little girl. Do you know her very well?”

I know she just wants to know why I would willingly throw my life away for someone else, that’s not family, but she’s trying to ask around the question to lead me to the answer she wants. I’m in no way ashamed of Katniss or my feelings for her, but it’s personal, only mine and Katniss’s business. It’s bad enough they see the murder of twenty-three kids as entertainment every year, I refuse to let them know anything about how I feel about Katniss. “Yes, she’s a very sweet little girl.” I answer plainly. That’s the only response she will get from me on the subject. After she realizes I will not add anymore to my response, she stands and states she’s going to find Haymitch. I continue eating along with Peeta in silence.

By the time we’re done, Haymitch stumbles into the room beyond drunk. Peeta straightens up and starts trying to get information from him about what we need to know for the games. I ignore their conversation and the little fight that comes shortly after, I know Haymitch will be no help tonight. By the time I return to myself, everyone has already left the room and I’m by myself. Well, might as well try to get some sleep before we reach the Capitol, I doubt I’ll sleep much once we arrive. I go to my room and change into pajamas, then lay down on the bed hoping to fall asleep quickly.

When I finally wake up the next morning, it takes me a few minutes to remember where I am. Once I realize it wasn’t all a dream, I start to panic. Jumping out of bed, I begin pacing around my room frantic. All the events from yesterday come rolling into my mind and I can’t shut them out. My breathing accelerates and I’m starting to see black dots in my eyes. Then, the memories of the kisses I shared with Katniss comes to mind and I begin to calm down instantly. Katniss. Her smooth, velvety lips pressed against my own. For her, it was all worth it. I get up and go to the bathroom to take a bath. There isn’t a bath but a shower I have no idea how to operate. I randomly press buttons until I get it working then go about my usual morning routine. When I look through my clothing options, I find I can wear anything I want, no more dresses for me then. I grab a black pair of pants and a black shirt and make my way to breakfast.

Haymitch and Peeta are at the table eating when I arrive talking quietly amongst themselves. I should probably be asking questions myself, but I don’t feel as though Haymitch can give me good answers. I’ll just learn all I can at the training center. When I sit down at the table, Haymitch does a double take, I look a lot like my late aunt from what everyone has told me. “Madge?!” I just give him a tiny smile and reply, “Hello, Haymitch. How are you today?” He has so many emotions roll over his face in the span of several seconds. I can tell my appearance reminds him of his own games because of my aunt, and from what my father told me, he was there for her when she died. He wouldn’t be here without my aunt that’s true, but he was there for her in her last moments of life. No one deserves to die alone, and I am truly grateful he held her hand as she exited life. I can only hope I won’t die alone in the arena. He slightly shook his head then slowly replies, “What the hell were you thinking?!” I need to come up with a reason for volunteering for Prim, or I can just continue being evasive, I guess. “I had one thought in mind and I accomplished what I set out to do. Now, do you have any advice that may help keep Peeta and I alive?” He clearly doesn’t like my answer, but that’s all he is going to get out of me.

The rest of the trip to the Capitol is filled with Haymitch going over basic survival and Peeta asking questions. I listen intently to everything said, but most of it is common sense. Don’t get lured in to the cornucopia, it’s a bloodbath. Don’t start a fire at night, it’s a homing beacon to the other tributes to find you. Don’t this and don’t that. Even though I already know this information, I retain it all just in case the situation happens to arise while I’m in the arena. That’s one strength I have, I am very intelligent and my mind absorbs a lot of information quickly, guess being stuck by myself with just books all those years finally paid off. We will be arriving in the Capitol in about a half an hour according to Effie, so I go to my room to change back into my dress and put on my mockingjay pin. My hair still looks fine from this morning so I just sit on my bed and wait for the nightmare to start.

Someone knocks on my door after a few minutes so I go to open it thinking we arrived, but Haymitch is waiting on the other side. He pushes his way into my room and closes the door behind him. He leans towards my ear and whispers, “I will do everything I can to keep you alive for your aunt, but I need to know why you volunteered.” I look at him, really look at him and I can tell that losing my aunt has caused several decades of nightmares for him. Can I trust him to keep what I say between us though? My aunt trusted him with her life, I feel like I can do the same. I look him in the eye and whisper to him, “I did it so the woman I love could live.” He looks confused for a minute thinking I meant Prim, then realization floods in as he pieces it together. He nods at me then exits my room without another word.

** Katniss POV **

I make my way outside so I can watch as the train leaves from District 12. That would have been me if it wasn’t for Madge. I have no doubts about how she feels about me now. There is only one person I would have given my life up for and that’s Prim. I’m too afraid to try to figure our how I feel about her because she could die in a few weeks. What if I find that I feel the same way then lose her, can I handle that? I can’t think about this, not until I know whether she survives the arena or not. Gale makes his way over to me as the train goes out of my sight. Madge is gone. Gale takes one look at me and pulls me into a big hug. We stay in each other’s arms for several minutes before I pull back to look at him. “Why did you go say goodbye to Madge? I thought you hated her.” He looks down at me and replies, “I went to apologize for how I’ve treated her. I never hated her. I guess I was just jealous that she had it so easy as a child.” I understand what Gale’s saying, but he is also wrong. “She didn’t have anything easy. Everyone in District 12 treated her horrible because her father’s the mayor. She had no one there for her, like you and I have each other.” Gale looks like he considers what I’m saying but still disagrees with me. Instead of arguing we both remain silent and make our way to our homes.

As soon as I walk through the door, Prim jumps into my arms to give me a rib breaking hug. She’s still crying, but I can tell she’s starting to calm down. My mother comes over and wraps her arms around both of us. I take Prim to bed and once she falls asleep, I go back into the kitchen where my mother is sitting at the table. My mother looks at me and softly asks, “Why did Madge volunteer for Prim? This is going to destroy her mother after losing Maysilee the same way.” The second comment throws me off, who’s Maysilee? “What do you mean losing her the same way as Maysilee, mom?” My mom looks as though she hadn’t realized she said that part out loud. She clears her throat and tells me the story of her best friend when she was a child, what happened to her, how much Madge’s mom was destroyed by it, and how much Madge looks and acts like she did. After she finishes with the story, she asks me again why Mage volunteered today. I don’t know how to explain what happened to my mom.

One thing, it feels very awkward to talk to her about my first kiss, but also it feels like Madge’s personal business that I shouldn’t be telling other people. This is my mom though and I know she will keep it to herself, and won’t judge Madge for her feelings. I look away from my mom, and whisper, “I asked her the same thing when I went to say goodbye. She told me she loves me, has loved me for years. She knew I was going to volunteer for Prim, so she did instead.” The next thing I know, my mom’s arms are wrapped around me and I’m crying into her shoulder. My mom is whispering smoothing noises and words into my hair. When I finally calm down, my mom pulls back and tells me it will all be okay and helps me get into bed. The instant my head hits the pillow, I am off into the dark abyss.


	4. Burn Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madge meets her prep team, and Cinna for the first time. Peeta tries to make a move on Madge, and Katniss feels an unfamiliar burn.

** Chapter 4 **

** Madge’s POV **

Once we reached the Capitol, they hurried us into our prep team to get us ready to meet the stylist. I don’t even want to think about half the things they did to me. They bathed me like I have never been clean before, removed all my body hair basically, cleaned my nails like they were horrendous, and the list goes on and on. After what felt like an eternity, they left and told me the stylist would be in shortly. So here I sit, waiting for someone else to come in and play dress up with me.

You would think since I will possibly be dead soon, they would let me look however I want, wrong. If it was up to me, I would wear an outfit like Katniss normally wears, it looks so comfortable on her. I’ve always been stuck in dresses that my father bought me, but I despise them. If I could, I would burn every dress I own just for a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. My thoughts are interrupted as a man with gold make-up on walks through the door.

He walks over to me and holds out his hand. “Hello, my name is Cinna.” I grab his hand to shake it and reply, “Madge. Nice to meet you, Cinna.” We release our hands, and he stares at me for a couple minutes. I begin to feel uncomfortable with the amount of attention he’s giving me. People from twelve barely looked at me, I’m not use to this level of attention. “I’m going to do something new this year. I refuse to use the same boring outfit they’ve always used, especially for someone like you. Are you afraid of fire?” I shake my head no, and he keeps looking at me.

He tells me he will be right back with the outfit as he walks out the door. Minutes later, he returns with an all-black outfit that has pants. I’m so excited he won’t be forcing me into a dress. I quickly put the outfit on, and then he slowly walks around me staring me down from head to toe. After a couple times circling me, he adjusts my make-up in a few spots and tells me I’m done.

The fire comment from earlier hasn’t left my mind, so I ask the most important question in a long line of questions I currently have running through my mind. “Will the outfit keep me from getting burnt by the fire?” Cinna smiles at me and explains how the fire isn’t real, then shows me the fire and tells me to put my hand over it. Surprisingly, the fire doesn’t feel hot at all, it fills more like static electricity but it isn’t at all painful. The ceremony is about to begin so we head down to meet up with the others.

Peeta, Haymitch, and Effie are already there when we arrive. Peeta has on the same outfit as me. The only difference is his shirt has no sleeves. Cinna and Haymitch tell us to smile and wave to the crowd, because they could be potential sponsors. Peeta and I climb into the chariot, and Cinna starts the fake fire on our outfits and headdresses. Within moments the horses pull us forward into the waiting crowd, and the beginning of the games.

At first, I feel completely overwhelmed. There are so many people and they’re making so much noise. I take a deep breath and envision Katniss in my mind. A natural smile spreads across my face as I think of her, and then I raise my hand and begin to wave at the loud crowd. Peeta tries to grab my hand to hold it saying the crowd would love it, but I pull my hand away and continue smiling and waving at the crowd passing by me. Everyone seems to be enjoying the fire coming from our suits, and I hope we leave a lasting impression on all of them.

After miles, we finally reach the circle in front of President Snow and he makes the same speech as always. The ride back is the same as before, and we finally make it back to where we started the evening. Cinna, Haymitch, and Effie tell Peeta and I that we did a great job, and lead us to our living quarters so we can try to get some sleep before training begins tomorrow.

The light starts coming through the window in my room, and I just want to shut out the world. The night had been terrible. It took me hours to fall asleep, and when I finally did, I was plagued by so many vivid nightmares. Some were of me dying in the arena, taking someone else’s life, and the worst ones were Katniss dying in my arms. For some reason, she was in the arena with me and no matter how fast I ran, I couldn’t get to her in time. I woke up numerous times throughout the night crying until I gave up trying to sleep and just stayed awake. Katniss. Katniss. Katniss. I need to try for her. Get up and quit feeling sorry for yourself.

After a couple minute prep talk to myself, I finally force myself to get up and start getting ready to go to training. I shower and dress in record time, then make my way downstairs to grab a light breakfast. No one else is at the table yet so I grab some food and start eating while my mind races. I’ve never used a weapon of any type before, and never been in any physical altercations.

I can use my brain for a lot of things, but I need to be able to defend myself if I want any chance of surviving. Playing the piano has some perks. I have great hand-eye coordination and very strong hands. I wish I could shoot a bow like Katniss. Nothing too big will work for me, but some smaller weapon might work. Maybe I can try throwing knifes, or possibly a spear? I don’t want to try in front of the other tributes. Maybe I can see if Haymitch will sneak me a few knives so I can practice in my room.

I hear footsteps coming down the steps so I straighten up in my chair and continue eating. Glancing over my shoulder, I see Peeta is looking just as bad as I am from a lack of sleep. “Good morning, Peeta.” I say quietly. He nods his head at me, and then starts to eat. Over the next half an hour, everyone else makes it to breakfast and we all talk about what to expect in the training arena. “Looks like it’s time. Come on you two, don’t want to be late.” We get up and follow him to the elevator in silence. I take several deep breaths and brace myself before we go into the training room. Here we go, I think to myself.

** Katniss POV **

I don’t want to watch the games this year, but I feel as though I owe it to Madge to watch. How would I feel if I had to watch her die, or kill another tribute? If I don’t watch and something happens to her, I would feel guilty for the rest of my life. Not like I can do much about it from District 12 but at least it will be as if I’m there with her. I have to watch. I make my way to the square to watch the tributes enter on the carriages.

Of course, the camera focuses on the careers at first but in the background, you can see fire coming from one of the carriages. My heart is racing in my chest wondering why someone isn’t doing anything to put it out. The next second the camera focuses on that carriage, and Madge’s face is on the screen with a small smile. The air catches in my throat, she looks beautiful. The fire surrounding her makes her look like an avenging goddess, and I can’t take my eyes off of her.

I feel a warmth go throughout my body down to the pit of my stomach, and then in the center of my legs. I’ve never felt this way before and it scares me. I might have feelings for Madge, and it’s entirely possible I could lose her before I even get a chance to figure it out. My eyes begin to sting so I quickly shut them and take a few deep breathes to calm myself down. Please Madge, keep your promise to me. Come home.


	5. Training days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madge goes through her training days before the arena, and discovers she is actually decent with a weapon. Rue makes an appearance and appears to like Madge. Haymitch gives advice.

** Chapter 5 **

** Madge POV **

The first couple of hours in the training center is spent with them teaching us survival skills. The main topics were fire, shelter, and ways to find water. Almost everyone pays attention, of course the careers could care less about these topics. I picked up a few helpful ideas from what they taught us, but most of the information I already knew.

Once they were done, we were allowed to go around on our own to learn or practice any station we wanted. Most people went for the weapons to train with them, but I go over to the station to learn how to lay traps. I’m not a hunter, so I need a way to catch food or I won’t last very long. The instructor was very helpful, and I picked up a few different ways to catch animals. The whole process only took about an hour, so I began looking for what else to learn.

I only have three days so I skip over a few stations I feel I already know enough about. One station catches my eye so I walk over slowly trying to figure out what I’m able to learn there. There are books, plants, and fruit all over the place so I’m guessing I’ll learn about what is edible and what’s not. After a delightful conversation with the instructor, he begins showing me different items and letting me know everything about them. There are several plants and fruits that I can eat, some that can poison me, and some that can help heal wounds.

After two hours, I begin to worry that I’m spending too much time at this station. “Is there any way that I can borrow some books and bring them back tomorrow?” I ask politely. “You know you’re the first person to ever ask me that. Come back at the end of the day and I will have two books ready for you to take with you.” He replies with a small smile. I smile back at him, “thank you. I’ll be back in a few hours.” He nods at me as I walk on to learn something new.

I go to a few more stations before the day ends, and I feel quite accomplished. While I was at the last station, I made a plan for what areas I would go to the next day so I won’t waste time. As everyone is leaving, I walk over to collect the books. He hands me two like he said he would while holding his finger up to his lips. I grab them swiftly and tuck them into my arm the best I can to hide them.

Once we make it back to our living area, we sit down and have dinner all together to talk about the day. Peeta basically wasted his day putting paint all over himself. If he already knows how to paint, why waste your time painting yourself? It makes absolutely no sense to me. Haymitch breaks me out of my rambling, “Do either of you have any experience with weapons or fighting?”

Peeta tells Haymitch that he’s strong, but he has never used any type of weapons before now. After talking about what Peeta has done at the bakery, Haymitch suggests he try using a spear since it resembles the wooden planks, he uses to put bread in and out of the ovens. Maybe he’s not such a drunk after all. I have to give it to him, that was a great idea. Everyone turns to look at me, waiting for me to answer next.

I quickly shake my head and look down at my lap. I had been thinking about this topic earlier in the morning, perhaps I should run my idea by him. “I have great hand-eye coordination from playing the piano. I’ve been thinking about trying to throw knives to see if I’m any good at it.” I say quietly. I can tell he’s thinking about my suggestion and trying to see if he might have a better idea. “We can try throwing knives, and if that doesn’t work, I think you should try a sickle. It’s lighter than a sword and more manageable for your height than a spear. If that doesn’t work, I have a few more ideas we can go over.”

I know what one of his ideas are without him even telling me, a blowgun like my aunt used. They are actually the easiest to learn how to use quickly and efficiently, but I don’t want to do that to my mother. Bad enough I could die the same way, don’t want to use the same weapon as well. If I can’t find a suitable weapon, then I will use my brain to defend myself. I could always make a flame thrower, or make a trap with electricity in the area around where I take shelter.

When it comes down to it, I don’t think I will be able to kill anyone unless they are trying to kill me. There will be no hunting anyone down on my part, and if they leave me alone then I’ll leave them alone. I would prefer to get a lower score so the other tributes don’t see me as a threat. I excuse myself from the table and make my way to my room to shower, and begin reading through the two books.

The next two training days go by so quickly, but I feel like I know enough now to at least have a chance at winning. Yesterday at training, I began noticing I had a little shadow. Rue. If it came down between me and her, I would gladly end my own life so she could survive. The poor little girl is only twelve, way too young to be pitted against the rest of us. Haymitch also brought me some throwing knives yesterday. After practicing all last night, I feel pretty confident that I could hit a moving target accurately.

Haymitch wanted me to work with them today, but I didn’t want anyone knowing what I could or couldn’t do before the arena. Instead, I picked up a sickle and swung it around a bunch trying to make myself appear awkward with the weapon. I’d say it worked, most of the tributes were giggling watching me, so I count that as a win. I decided when they made us show our skills to be given a score, I would use the sickle exactly like this, low score here I come.

The entire time I was showcasing my skill, the ignorant people barely looked my way. How could they remember to give me a terrible score if they didn’t actually see me doing terrible? My anger starts to flair, but I realize if I’m not rememberable to them, they’ll just give me an average score probably. I quit doing anything and just sit down until they tell me I can go. Peeta ends up with a score of 8, and they give me a 10. Why did they give me such a high score?

Haymitch tries coaching both of us on what to say in our interviews, but I don’t agree with his way of thinking. He wants me to act like I know I’m going to win and that’s why I volunteered, but I’m not the boastful, confident type. I had planned to keep my feelings for Katniss to myself, but this could be the last time I speak to her, or where I know she’ll be able to hear me anyways. Should I tell her I love her one more time? Tell her I’ll never regret my decision? I’m not sure what I should do when I get asked the question of why I volunteered for Prim.


	6. The Interview

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madge decides how she plans on playing the interview, and Caesar tries his hardest to get answers. Peeta declares his love, and throws Madge under the bus.

** Madge POV **

The interview is only an hour away, and I’m extremely nervous. I know this night’s important to help attract sponsors, but I feel like my entire personal life is about to be laid bare for all to see. There’s no reasonable explanation for why I volunteered for a girl that I have no ties to. Everyone knows that and is chomping at the bit to find out why I did it anyways. The only reason I’m thinking about telling the truth is to tell Katniss I love her one more time. What should I do?

The time has come for the interviews to start and I’m waiting backstage while all the other districts go before me when I finally come to a decision. I’m not going to tell them anything. I told Katniss before I left how I felt, and I refuse to let these people know anything about her or me. I’ll keep my answers vague and if a question comes up that I don’t want to answer I’ll just say it’s personal. I’ll do like the rest of the tributes and put on a show for the people of the capitol, after all, I’ve had years of practice putting on a mask for others to see.

After twenty-two people go before me, it’s finally my turn to go out on stage. I take a couple of deep breaths to calm my nerves, wipe my hands on my dress, put on my friendly mask, and then walk out onto the stage to get this over with as quickly as possible. The lights blind me for a couple of seconds, but I quickly regain my composure and then go shake hands with Caesar before taking my seat, show time.

“You look amazing. I know I speak for everyone here when I say that your entrance with the fire, simply took my breath away. Am I right folks?! Tell me, what was going through your mind while you were taking that ride in the chariot?” Caesar asks in a lowered voice.

“I was thinking about my district.” I answer plainly with a small smile. Caesar looks at me waiting for more, and then realizes that’s all I’m planning on saying.

“I think we were all very moved when you volunteered for that little girl at the reaping. Can you tell us why you volunteered for her?” The entire crowd seems to be sitting at the edge of their seats after Caesar asks the question.

I know if I say it’s personal, he will just continue to pry so I say vaguely, “Love.” He gives me a tight-lipped smile showing me that I’m annoying him, and tries to pry more.

“Love. Can you be more specific? I know everyone here is dying to know the answer.”

I shrug my shoulders, and look to the camera. Everyone’s thinking I’m about to go into a huge explanation of why I volunteered and what I’m talking about when I just said love, but this message isn’t for them, it’s for her. “I love you.” I whisper softly, then stand up and leave the stage without taking a single look back. I’m sure I hear several gasps because of how rudely I just walked off the stage, but I don’t care, I’m probably dead anyways.

Backstage, Effie and Haymitch are both laying into me about the stunt I just pulled during the interview when Peeta FUCKING Mellark tells the entire world that he and I are both in love with the same girl. How the hell does he know? Is he seriously in love with Katniss too? My anger has skyrocketed and I want nothing more than to kill the boy right now for talking about MY PERSONAL BUSINESS! One small blessing is he doesn’t say her name, but that doesn’t tame the rage I’m feeling inside me.

The moment he steps off the stage, I use my entire body to throttle him into the wall. I can’t even remember what words were coming out of my mouth, but at least he looked mortified. Before I could do any damage, Haymitch pulls me off of him and stands between us. Effie is going off about my behavior, but I don’t hear any of it. I stare Peeta down until he leaves and then it still takes me forever to calm myself down.

Haymitch waits with me until he sees I’ve calmed down enough, then he leads me back to our living quarters. We make it back in no time and just stand by the front doors looking any where but at one another. I can’t take the awkwardness anyone so I break the silence. “I’m going to my room to try to get some sleep before the arena. Haymitch, if I don’t make it out, can you tell my mom, dad, and Katniss that I love them?” He looks at me with the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen, and just nods his head. I go to my room and try my hardest to get even a little bit of sleep before the games begin tomorrow.

** Katniss POV **

As I was watching the interview televised around the square, I began to worry about everyone finding out about Madge’s feelings for me. I mean obviously everyone suspects something since she volunteered for Prim, but it’s different hearing the words spoken out loud. I’m not ashamed that she has feelings for me, but those words will carry even more guilt for me when people realize she did it _for me_, out of love. I’m the reason she may die.

Madge’s turn is finally up, and I can’t help but stare at how calm and determined she looks, even through the screen. I can’t help but smile when I realize that Madge has no intention of telling anyone why she volunteered. That shows me more than anything that she doesn’t regret what she did for me and my sister. When she looks directly at the camera, and whispers out “I love you,” tears spring into my eyes and it feels like she’s standing right beside me, whispering it into my ear. I can’t deny it anymore, I’m in love with Madge.

Madge storms off the stage after her proclamation to me, and I can’t help but laugh at how defiant she’s acting towards the Capitol. She just gave them a giant middle finger and everyone in District 12 seems to be happier at watching it unfold. Of course, Peeta ruins everyone’s, mine included, good mood by selling out part of Madge’s secret. Like I would ever return his feelings after he pulled a stunt like that.


	7. The Final Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The last few hours, and the beginning of the games.

** Chapter 7 **

** Madge POV **

I wake up to the first light streaming in through my window with a groan. I had tried to sleep for hours tossing and turning, but the little bit of sleep I got was beyond restless. There’s no way I’m going back to sleep now knowing I’ll be in the arena in just a few short hours. Without a second thought, I push myself out of the bed and begin getting ready for possibly the last time in my life.

My thoughts won’t stop running, but I try to enjoy my shower as much as I can. After being in the shower for way too long, I step out and look at myself in the mirror. I look paler than usual and the dark bags under my eyes show the little amount of sleep I got last night. At least Cinna will be here to make me look better than I feel soon enough.

After I dress, I make my way downstairs and try to force myself to eat some breakfast. Mostly I spend my time shuffling food around my plate, but I do manage to eat some toast before Cinna arrives. I ask him to do my hair a specific way, but besides that I let him dress me how he wants. The time the stylists spend getting me ready flies by and goes slowly at the same time. I know that doesn’t seem possible, but that’s how it feels to me. I would do anything to both prolong and speed up time until the arena. Part of me wants to get it over with while another part wants every last second of freedom that I have left.

Cinna leads me to the hovercraft where other tributes are already aboard. We share a quick goodbye and then I make my way to the seat indicated by the peacekeeper. I fasten the seatbelt around myself, and then a woman comes over and asks me for my arm. She pushes a huge needle into my arm, and it takes everything I have in me not to pass out. She’s done as quickly as she started, but the nauseous feeling won’t leave me. Moments later the hovercraft takes off to take us to the arena.

When we arrive, Haymitch is waiting for me and he leads me to a room with a tube in the corner of the room. He grabs ahold of my shoulders and leans closer to me. “Madge, the other tributes underestimate you, use that to your advantage. You can win this thing, and I will do whatever I can to help keep you alive. Remember everything you’ve learned, and use that brilliant brain of yours. Oh, one more thing, stay away from the cornucopia, it’s a bloodbath designed to drag you in.” I nod my head at his words, and feel a little bit better about my chances of staying alive.

“Haymitch, don’t forget what you promised me last night. I..” I’m interrupted by a voice saying for the tributes to get into the tubes with a countdown. My mouth feels dry, palms feel sweaty, and my heart is pounding in my chest. I want to cry but I refuse to break down now, I need to be strong if I want to stay alive. I start walking over to the tube and slowly step into it and turn around to look at Haymitch one last time. The tube closes up, and it begins moving upwards.

I’m having trouble breathing, but I close my eyes and try to think about Katniss. After a few moments, I begin to calm a bit so I open my eyes to find myself surrounded by trees and other tributes. In the middle of the field is a huge metal piece that I’m assuming is the cornucopia. The countdown is at fifteen seconds, so I take a deep breath and prepare myself for what’s about to happen. Quickly looking around, I see a backpack not to far behind me so I decide I’ll go that way, grab it, and then find a place deep in the woods to hide. With a game plan in mind, I glance at the clock to see five seconds remain… 4… 3…2…1.

** Katniss POV **

The entire district in standing in the square watching as the games are about to begin. I’m waiting to catch a glimpse of Madge when they finally show her face. Her eyes are closed, and she appears to be taking deep breaths. I’m feeling more panicked at seeing her like this, but then she opens her eyes and I can see her determination shine through. She stares down all the other competitors and then starts taking in her surroundings, already coming up with a plan.

My heart leaps at seeing her looking so fierce, but then I realize I could lose her today. No, I can’t think like that, I need to think positive. Madge looks like she is trying to stay a few steps ahead. She’s smart, she’ll figure out a way to make it through these games. The countdown reaches the last three seconds, and my breath catches in my throat when I hear the cannon go off, signaling the start of the games.


	8. The Games Begin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of the games!!!!

** Chapter 8 **

** Madge POV **

The second I hear the cannon boom; I take off behind me towards the backpack. Without slowing down, I swoop down and grab the strap and continue running towards the woods. I begin hearing people screaming before I reach the tree line, and it takes everything inside of me not to turn around and look. I have to remind myself that there’s nothing I can do for them, and I have to get as far away from the other tributes as quickly as I can.

There are so many booms of the cannon during my run, but I can’t keep track of how many went off. I run until I feel like my legs are numb, and my lungs are burning. I don’t stop completely but I do slow my pace down to a fast walk. As I’m walking, I pull the backpack off of my back and begin looking through the contents. There is more in the bag then I originally thought there’d be, and everything is useful. I pull out the canteen ready to quench my thirst, only to find there’s no water inside. Great. First thing I need to do is find water, which may prove quite difficult.

I’ve been moving for a long time, and haven’t stumbled upon any yet. I begin looking around trying to find any indicators about the direction I need to go to find water. I don’t see much, but there is a slight slope to the ground so I decide to keep going forward in the hopes to find some at the bottom of the slope.

All throughout my walk, I try to take everything in that could give me clues about where the water could be but I’m not finding much. I’m honestly starting to get a little panicked, but then I decide that I need a better view. I find a tree that looks fairly easy to climb but I’m a bit scared. I’ve never climbed a tree before, and the only practice I had was that rope line during training.

Taking a deep breath, I calm myself and begin slowly climbing up the tree. The process takes a long time, but eventually I get high enough that I can see things around me. Off to the right of the direction I was heading, I can see a small pond that’s still a little way away from me. I can’t stop the smile that breaks out on my face, I actually found water. Feeling a lot better, I begin my descent down the tree.

I thought climbing up the tree took a long time, but the time it took me to get back down was easily twice that time, and I almost feel once. It’s safe to say that I won’t be climbing any trees again unless I absolutely have to. Once my feet are on firm ground, I take off to the right so I can try to reach the water before it gets dark out. The trip takes longer than I thought it would but I make it there before it gets too dark out.

Not waiting to fill my canteen, I submerge my face and drink the water greedily. Once my throat doesn’t feel as though it’s burning anymore, I pull the canteen out of my backpack and fill it up. There’s still a lot I need to do, but I take a moment to catch my breath and examine my surroundings. Now that I have water, I need to get food or I won’t last long. Since the animals will need to come here to get water, I decide to place traps around the water source hoping to catch some meat.

Once I finished placing my last snare, I decide to find a place to sleep for the night. My best bet will be to get away from the snares so if another tribute finds them, they won’t be led directly to me. I look around for a place to sleep until it becomes too dark to see, but still haven’t found a place I feel safe yet. There’s no way I can keep looking, but I don’t trust just sleeping right here on the ground either.

I don’t have a choice. I’m going to have to try to catch a little bit of sleep here on the ground. I settle against the bark of a tree after deciding to keep my backpack on while I sleep, and clutch my knife firmly in my hand. As I close my eyes, the stupid song comes on and then the deceased tributes face’s start lighting up the sky.

At the end of the song, I count eleven tributes has died in the first day. I bet most of them met the end at the cornucopia. I take a minute to look at the stars, and then I try to get some sleep. I know my sleep will be restless, but some sleep is better than having no sleep.

** Katniss POV **

Madge has survived the first day but I’m terrified that when I wake up in the morning, I’ll find that she has been killed while I slept. I had felt immense pride when Madge climbed the tree and found water, and also when I saw her lay snares to catch animals. There’s definitely more to her than even I realized, and I hope that I’ll get the chance to discover more about her if…no when…when she returns home.


	9. Rinse and Repeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Madge's first day and the overview of the first week, trying to get to the good stuff and skip the boring plot.

**Madge POV**

The first sign of sunlight woke me abruptly, and I jump up in anticipation. Looking all around, I see no one else in sight but it still takes me a while to calm my racing heart. Closing my eyes, I try taking deep breaths to calm down further and focus on the fact that I survived the first day. The cannon went off once last night and after that I found it hard to sleep without jumping at every little sound. My stomach starts growling and I know that I need to find food and soon. I quickly set off to check the traps I placed last night and hope that I caught something. The first two traps were empty but the third snare holds a rabbit. I remove the rabbit and reset the snare in the hopes of catching more animals in the future. 

I set to work cleaning the rabbit and getting a small fire going. While the meat is cooking, I start looking around for any plants or berries that I can eat or use later on for medical purposes. I make sure to keep an eye out for a better place to call home as well, but I'm not seeing much. The best plan would be to put as much distance between me and the other tributes as possible but I'm afraid to lose my water source. I was lucky to find it yesterday and I could end up walking for days and not find anymore. My options are take my chances and stay here to risk run ins with other tributes, or take off farther away and possibly die of dehydration. 

I think I'd rather stay here. At least if I die from another tribute, it would be quick instead of slowly dying from a lack of water. With my mind made up, I return to my food and try to think of some possible places to sleep at night. I don't trust myself to climb a tree, but just sleeping out in the open is also a bad option. I could build a blind to sleep in. It would be on the ground, but camouflage me from other tributes at night. I quickly eat my food and instantly feel better than I have in days. I fill up my canteen and then start looking for supplies to build my blind.

I grab every limb I can find, and even cut down a few with my knife. It takes me hours to make the blind and camouflage it to look like a bush but the end result is satisfying. I'll feel a lot safer going to sleep tonight then what I did last night. The sun is starting to go down, but I decide to go check my traps one more time before I get ready to go to sleep. As I'm approaching the first trap, I hear some rustling and my heart stops as well as my body. I listen as closely as I can praying another tribute hasn't found me but the noise has stopped. Cautiously, I take a few more steps and find that the noise was coming from a small squirrel stuck in my trap. I release the breath I had been holding, and quickly get to work on the small animal and reset the trap.

It doesn't take very long for me to cook the little bit of meat, and then I devour it as though I haven't eaten in a week. Making sure I stay fed and hydrated are the most important things, and so far I've been succeeding in those aspects. The sun has went down, and I make my way into my blind to get some sleep. This is going to end up being my routine for the next several days as long as no other tributes find me. Wake up, check the traps, eat, fortify my position, refill my canteen, check the traps, eat, and get some sleep.

\-----------

The last seven days have flown by, and there are only seven of us left. I can't remember all of their names but I believe it's Cato, Foxface, Clove, Thresh, Rue, Peeta, and me. I spent two days working on a blow dart gun, and have been practicing with it every chance I get. I also made special darts to use on anyone that might wish to harm me. By special darts, I mean they are laced in poison. Not very hard to find poisonous stuff in an arena meant to kill you and twenty two other people.

Another three days was spent setting traps around the area I've been hiding in. Some are traps to catch people, while others are to alert me to someone being in the area. I've also found plenty of food to eat, enough that I even have extra set aside in my bag if I need to flee the area. I have prepared as much as I could, and am trying my hardest to stay positive and alive.

The last two days have been my foraging days. In that time, I found extra food and plants that I can use as various types of medicine. Every day I go out a little bit father to try to find whatever I can. Today, I've been extra vigilante. Ever since I woke up, I have had this nagging feeling that something is going to happen today and I made sure to have my bag and my weapons at the ready. My blow dart gun is loaded and in my hand waiting for something to happen. My knife is in my belt loop ready to be pulled out at a moments notice. Every step I take is careful and soft, and my eyes haven't stopped looking at my surroundings once.

It would have been wise to stay back at my camp, but I had the feeling that it would find me wherever I am and I would rather my area still be kept hidden from the other tributes. My one safe place in this world of danger, at least for now it is. In the distance, I hear some branches breaking which is normal but something about it is out of place. It's normal for one branch to break and fall but several at once isn't normal. My eyes dart to the direction of the noise and my blow gun is in my mouth in an instant. 

My body is stiff and ready to strike at a moments notice, and my ears are listening for anything out of the ordinary. That's when I hear the sound that will haunt my dreams for the remainder of my days. A child screaming. There's only one child left in this game and that's Rue. Before I even think through my plan, my feet take off in the direction of Rue's scream as fast as I can go. My heart is pounding in my chest and I'm afraid that I will be too late. She's just a child. I feel as though it takes no time to reach her, but too much time all at the same time. 

The moment I see what's happening I just react. No thoughts go through my brain, and my body just reacts to try to save Rue. I've done fired my blow gun and hit Clove in the neck when Peeta and Cato turn around. Clove was the one throwing knives at Rue while she was in the tree so she was the one that needed stopped first. Cato is a bigger threat then Peeta so he's my next target. I quickly reload and shoot one at Cato, but he dodges it and rushes towards me. I pull out my knife and throw it at Cato and manage to stab him in his shoulder making him drop his sword. Backing up to put some distance between us, I quickly put another dart in and shoot in his direction and manage to hit him in the stomach. He goes down and I quickly look for Peeta to see if he plans to attack. He looks hesitant so I quickly look for Rue. 

I don't see her anywhere so she must have gotten away during the fight. Clove and Cato aren't dead yet. The poison will take a little time to work through their system but the effects hit fast and hard. It will be worse for Clove since I got her in the neck and I can see Cato is already attempting to get up. I take the opportunity to flee quickly and try to put as much distance as I can between them and me. Without medicine, Clove will die in a couple of hours but Cato could make it until tomorrow. I'm pretty sure no one else will know what to use to counteract the poison, but I know people hid things to give themselves a better chance. Just look at me. I'm sure none of them thought I could use a weapon at all.

I run the entire way back to my camp, but I circle back to try to find Rue and to lead the others away if they decided to follow any trail I may have left. After searching for at least an hour, I begin to panic. I need to find her. The scream she released was full of pain so I'm fairly certain she was hurt. I just don't know how badly. She was in the trees when I found her the first time, maybe she's in the trees again. I resume my search but keep my eyes in the trees looking for any sign of her. After another hour, I finally see her peeking out behind some branches. I raise my hands to show her they are empty. "I won't hurt you Rue. Are you okay?"

She looks bashful and I'm worried she won't trust me, but after staring at me for a minute, she begins to climb down from the tree. "Thank you for saving me. Clove got me in the side with a knife but I'll be alright." She replies quietly. I can see the blood is still running through the material of her shirt. I quickly look in my bag and begin pulling out supplies to clean and close the wound. 

"I'm going to clean and close up the wound so it doesn't become infected. Okay?" I ask in a soft voice. She nods her head, and lifts up her shirt. I quickly get to work cleaning and closing up the wound while keeping an eye on our surroundings. It takes about a half an hour to finish, but I feel a lot better knowing she'll be okay with a little bit of rest. 

"Come on Rue. Let's go get some food and rest." I grab her hand softly and she follows without any protest. It takes forever to walk back to my camp, but once we've made it there, I feel instantly better. Reaching into my bag, I grab out my canteen and some food to give her to eat. She takes it without complaint and digs in quickly.

"I'm going to check my traps. Meat will be good to get your energy back up and help replenish the blood you lost. Come here. I'll show you where you can hide if you hear anything while I'm gone. Okay?" She nods and stands to follow me to the blind. After showing her everything, I grab the canteen and take off to replace the water and check the traps. Luckily, two out of the three traps had small animals in them. By the time I got back, it was already starting to get dark out so I quickly cleaned, skinned, and cooked the meat. Don't want the other tributes spotting a fire, even if it is a small one.

We eat and quietly talk about our lives before the games. Rue is such a sweet, loving, young girl and it breaks my heart that she was stuck coming into this nightmare. There isn't a mean bone in her body, and I vow I will do whatever it takes to make sure she survives the games. Even if it means me dying so she can live. That night, Rue snuggles up to me and I wrap my arm around her so she can feel safe and hopefully get some rest tonight. I had wanted to live for Katniss, but I can't live knowing I didn't do what I could to protect this little girl. Maybe I can find a way for both of us to survive. 


	10. The Reason

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I am so sorry I took so long posting new chapters. Life happened. Working too many hours, taking too many classes trying to finish my Bachelor's. My wife actually yelled at me that I needed to get back to writing my fanfictions, so here I am. I promise I will finish any and all fanfictions that I start, good thing about being OCD, but I can't promise a schedule. I will definitely try to not take this long ever again though. Thank you for all the amazing comments and kudos, they definitely encourage me to continue when I know people enjoy the story.

**Katniss POV**

Everyone who isn’t busy working in the mine is standing in the square, silently watching the screen. Of course, Gale is working right now, when I need him the most. I had tried to keep myself busy with hunting game earlier, but after catching plenty of food, I rushed back to make sure Madge was alright. When I entered the square to find people deathly quiet, staring angrily at the screen, I panicked. My stomach leapt into my throat, tears started to well up in my eyes, and my heart seemed to stop and speed up all at once. Instantly my eyes went to the screen to find Peeta, along with Cato and Clove surrounding Rue, the young girl from District 11. The girl was the same age as Prim. That could have been my little sister. Cato and Clove begin taunting Rue, and all Peeta does is stand to the side and watch. How can anyone seriously think three older kids, basically adults compared to Rue, ganging up on that poor little girl is okay? Anger and sadness rush through me as Rue screams when Clove hits her in the side with her knife. 

Not only are these three ganging up on the poor girl, they are enjoying it. Clove could have ended her quickly, with less pain but chose not to. As Clove raises her hand to throw another of her knives, Madge emerges from the tree line and then everything happens in fast motion. Before Clove can even finish raising her hand, Madge has already hit her with her blowgun and reloads turning to aim at Cato. Cato manages to barely dodge the dart and tries to lunge at her. Fear runs through me as I realize that Madge could die in a matter of seconds. Madge pulls a knife from somewhere and hits Cato in the shoulder making him drop his sword. Then, she hits him with a dart and quickly looks over to Peeta. Peeta hasn’t moved since Madge first appeared and he doesn’t move a muscle now. Madge sees Rue got away and quickly turns and runs away.

Once Madge gets a safe distance away, I pull in a deep breath and release it slowly. My emotions are all over the place. I’m so angry that Madge would put herself in danger like that after she promised me she would try to win, but at the same time I’m relieved that she would defend Rue. As mad as I want to be at her, I can’t. If I were in her position, I would have done everything I could to save a little child too. When I see Madge find Rue, I can’t help but fall in love with her a little more. Madge has always been quiet and reserved, but she is also brave, fiercely loyal, and a kindhearted woman. All these traits are things I have seen in her over the years, but no one else has ever cared to notice. Just like with Gale, they treat her differently because her dad is the Mayor of District 12. 

After Madge and Rue lay down in her blind, I look around and see everyone is watching the screen with a small smile. Everyone appears to be in much better spirits then they were when I first entered the square. I take one last look at Madge and walk home. My emotions are still all over the place when I go through the door, but I distract myself by playing and talking with Prim. Madge has saved not only my life and my sister’s life, but also another little girl that she knew nothing about. For the first time in a long time, I feel hope. Hope that Madge will make it home after watching how well she can fight, and hope that we could have a chance to see where our relationship will take us.

**Madge POV**

I felt like I had just closed my eyes to get some sleep when the cannon blasted. Looking up into the night sky, I see a picture of Clove. My eyes instantly water, and I feel like I’m going to be sick. I murdered someone. I’m a killer. There is knowing that you may have to defend yourself and take someone else’s life, and then actually doing it. The guilt I’m currently feeling is more than I would have thought possible. I go to move my arms to my stomach when I realize someone is laying on my arm. Quickly looking to my side, I see Rue sleeping peacefully beside me. I did it to save Rue. They would have killed her without a second thought. The nausea starts to recede when I concentrate on the reason, I did what I did instead of the act itself. 

Would I be able to kill the remaining four to protect Rue? There’s still Thresh, Peeta, Foxface, and Cato, not including myself and Rue. Cato could very well be close to dying unless he knew the antidote to the poison I used on the darts. Can I kill more people to protect her? Yes. I would gladly die so she could live. If I would willingly give up my own life for hers, then I can just as easily kill others and take that guilt to protect her as well. She will live past this arena, but I need to come up with a plan to keep my promise to Katniss too. How can I possibly get the gamers to allow for two victors instead of one?

There is the possibility that me protecting her from others will cause the people of the capitol to want both of us alive, but that plan isn’t concrete enough to risk our lives on it. When it is just the two of us left, we can refuse to kill one another. That could just lead to them killing one or both of us off. Scratch that idea. The only certain plan would be to fake my own death so they crown Rue the victor, and then I can pop up and hope they allow me to continue breathing. Luckily, I’m good enough with poisons and antidotes that I can pretend to kill myself to save her. 

How do they know when the tribute is dead though? The only thing we have from them is the clothes on our back and the tracker.. the tracker! If I cut it out of my arm, they will think my heart stopped, thus, they will think I am dead. Honestly, this idea has a great chance of me dying but it gives me a higher chance of survival over other methods. No, this idea won’t work either. They will see me cut it out and see me give myself the antidote. Back at square one. I won’t find the perfect solution tonight and I need to get some sleep if I plan on protecting Rue. I push all the thoughts from my mind and drift off to sleep. 


End file.
